People throughout
Inishowen like the rest of the country are today
counting the costs and benefits of the fourth Budget
delivered by Finance Minister Brian Cowen. In his
Budget address yesterday, Mr. Cowen said his
priorities were to help the incomes of the
vulnerable, put more money in home buyers' pockets
and to boost the Irish economy in today's more
challenging climate.
What does Budget 2008 mean to you?
|
 Taxation:
Personal tax credits are to increase by €70 for a
single person and €140 for married people. PAYE tax
credit also goes up by €70 while the home carer
credit is up by €130 to €1,830 per year.
The standard rate tax bands will be further widened
meaning that those on the minimum wage will continue
to pay no income tax and those on the average wage
will stay out of the top rate of taxation.
|
 Welfare:
There will be an increase of €14 a week in the
contributory pension, bringing it to €233, and of
€12 a week in the non-contributory pension, which
will be worth €212. Carer's Allowance rises by €14 a
week.
|
 Stamp
duty: Stamp duty will be reduced - no tax will
apply on the first €125,000 while the balance up to
€1m will be charged at 7%. Anything over the €1m
threshold will attract duty at 9%. |
 Vehicle
Registration Tax: From July next year, VRT rates
will be determined by the CO2 emission rating of
the car and will no longer be related to engine
size.
|
 Education:
A total of €9.3 billion will be spent on education
next year, €828 million of which will be capital
expenditure. The budget includes an additional €95
million for capital expenditure on primary school
buildings due to the expected large number of new
pupils at primary level over the coming years.
|
 Cigarettes:
The price of a packet of 20 cigarettes increased by
30c from midnight last night.
|
 Housing:
A total housing package of €1.7bn has been budgeted
for from Exchequer resources with non-Exchequer
financing bringing the overall housing package to
€2.5bn.
The package includes a target of 9,000 new social
housing units to commence or be acquired in 2008 and
the provision of 5,500 new affordable homes.
There will be an increase in the income tax relief
on rent payments by 11%. The threshold for the
rent-a-room scheme is also proposed to increase from
€7,620 to €10,000 to ensure the continued supply of
this type of rental accommodation. |
 Farming:
The Farm Waste Management Scheme helps farmers
adjust to the new environmental conditions and
standards required by the EU Nitrates Directives and
aims to support the competitiveness of Irish
agriculture.
Following a strong take-up of the scheme, Mr. Cowen
announced a further increase of €35m in 2008, to
bring the total grant aid next year to almost €150m.
There will also be an allocation of €370m to the
Rural Environmental Protection Scheme - REPS 4 - to
cover grants for approximately 60,000 farmers. |
